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Gmail Data Source

The Gmail connector enables you to ingest email messages, labels, and attachments from a Gmail mailbox. This connector is particularly useful for applications that need to process email data, monitor inbox activity, extract attachments, or integrate email workflows with other data systems. Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from a Gmail source in Nexla.
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Gmail

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the Gmail connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Gmail instance, and click Next; or, create a new Gmail credential for use in this flow.

  3. In Nexla, Gmail data sources can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite source setup for common Gmail endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Gmail endpoint, making source configuration easy and efficient.
    • To configure this source using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.

    Gmail sources can also be configured manually, allowing you to ingest data from Gmail endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
    • To configure this source manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.

Configure Using a Template​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common Gmail endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Gmail endpoint, making data source setup easy and efficient.

Endpoint Settings​

  • Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below. Click on an endpoint to see more information about it and how to configure your data source for this endpoint.

    List Messages

    Retrieves a list of messages matching a specified search query, along with the full content of each message. This is the primary endpoint for ingesting email data from Gmail and is ideal for monitoring inbox activity, processing incoming messages, or extracting email content for analysis.

    • In the User ID field, enter the Gmail user ID whose messages should be retrieved. The default value is me, which refers to the authenticated user's mailbox. In most cases, this default is appropriate and does not need to be changed.
    • In the Search Query field, enter a Gmail search query to filter which messages are retrieved. The default value is is:unread, which retrieves only unread messages. Gmail search queries use the same syntax as the Gmail search box. Common examples include: is:unread (unread messages), from:user@example.com (messages from a specific sender), subject:invoice (messages with a keyword in the subject), has:attachment (messages with attachments), after:2025/01/01 before:2025/12/31 (messages within a date range), and label:important (messages with a specific label).

    This endpoint uses a two-step chained API call. First, it retrieves a list of message IDs matching the search query, then it fetches the full content of each message. Pagination is handled automatically for large result sets. For the complete list of supported search operators, refer to the Gmail search operators documentation.

    Get Message Details

    Retrieves the full content of a specific message, including headers, body, and metadata. Use this endpoint when you need to fetch detailed information about a known message by its ID.

    • In the User ID field, enter the Gmail user ID whose message should be retrieved. The default value is me, which refers to the authenticated user's mailbox.
    • In the Message ID field, enter the unique identifier of the message to retrieve. This field is required. Message IDs can be obtained from the "List Messages" endpoint or from other Gmail API responses.

    The message ID is a unique, immutable identifier assigned by Gmail. It differs from the message's RFC 822 Message-ID header. For additional details, refer to the Gmail API messages.get documentation.

    Get Attachment

    Retrieves a specific attachment from a message. Use this endpoint when you need to extract file attachments from email messages for processing or storage.

    • In the User ID field, enter the Gmail user ID. The default value is me, which refers to the authenticated user's mailbox.
    • In the Message ID field, enter the unique identifier of the message that contains the attachment. This field is required.
    • In the Attachment ID field, enter the unique identifier of the attachment to retrieve. This field is required. Attachment IDs can be found in the message payload from the "Get Message Details" or "List Messages" endpoints, within the body.attachmentId field of message parts that represent attachments.

    Attachment data is returned as a base64url-encoded string in the response. For additional details, refer to the Gmail API attachments.get documentation.

    List Labels

    Retrieves a list of all labels in the user's mailbox, including both system labels (such as INBOX, SENT, TRASH) and user-created labels. Use this endpoint to discover available labels for filtering messages or to audit label organization.

    • In the User ID field, enter the Gmail user ID whose labels should be retrieved. The default value is me, which refers to the authenticated user's mailbox.

    The response includes both system labels (such as INBOX, SENT, SPAM, TRASH, STARRED) and custom labels created by the user. Label IDs returned by this endpoint can be used with the "Modify Message Labels" destination endpoint. For additional details, refer to the Gmail API labels.list documentation.

Endpoint Testing​

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current settings. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Configure Manually​

Gmail data sources can be manually configured to ingest data from any valid Gmail API endpoint. Manual configuration provides maximum flexibility for accessing endpoints not covered by pre-built templates or when you need custom API configurations.

With manual configuration, you can also create more complex Gmail sources, such as sources that use chained API calls to fetch data from multiple endpoints or sources that require custom authentication headers or request parameters.

API Method​

  1. To manually configure this source, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.

  2. Select the API method that will be used for calls to the Gmail API from the Method pulldown menu. The most common methods are:

    • GET: For retrieving data from the API
    • POST: For sending data to the API or triggering actions
    • PUT: For updating existing data
    • PATCH: For partial updates to existing data
    • DELETE: For removing data

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the Gmail API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. Gmail API endpoints follow the base URL pattern https://gmail.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/{userId}/{resource}, where userId is typically me for the authenticated user.

Ensure the API endpoint URL is correct and accessible with your current credentials. You can test the endpoint using the Test button after configuring the URL. For a complete list of available Gmail API endpoints, refer to the Gmail API REST reference.

Date/Time Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Optionally, the API URL can be customized using macros—all macros added to the API URL will be converted into values when Nexla executes the API call. Macros are dynamic placeholders that allow you to create flexible API endpoints that can adapt to different time periods or data requirements.

Macros are particularly useful for Gmail API endpoints that accept date-based query parameters, such as filtering messages by date using the q parameter with after: or before: operators.

  1. To add a macro, type { at the appropriate position in the API URL (within the Set API URL field), and select the desired macro from the dropdown list.

    • {now} – The current datetime
    • {now-1} – The datetime one time unit before the current datetime
    • {now+1} – The datetime one time unit after the current datetime
    • custom – Datetime macros can reference any number of time units before or after the current datetime—for example, enter (now-4) to indicate the datetime four time units before the current datetime

  2. Select the format that will be applied to datetime macros from the Date Format for Date/Time Macro pulldown menu. This format will be applied to the base datetime value of the macro—i.e., the value of {now} in {now-1}.

  3. Select the datetime unit that will be used to perform mathematical operations in the included macro(s) from the Time Unit for Operations pulldown menu—for example, for the macro {now-1}, when Day is selected, {now-1} will be converted to the datetime one day before the current datetime.

Lookup-Based Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Column values from existing lookups can also be included as macros in the API URL. Lookup-based macros allow you to reference data from previously configured data sources or lookups, enabling dynamic API endpoints that can adapt based on existing data.

Lookup-based macros are useful when you need to create API endpoints that reference specific IDs, values, or parameters from other data sources in your Nexla environment.

  1. To include a lookup column value macro, select the relevant lookup from the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

  2. Type { at the appropriate position in the API URL, and select the lookup column-based macro from the dropdown list. Lookup-based macros are automatically populated into the macro list when a lookup is selected in the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

Path to Data​

Optional

If only a subset of the data that will be returned by API endpoint is needed, you can designate the part(s) of the response that should be included in the Nexset(s) produced from this source by specifying the path to the relevant data within the response. This is particularly useful when API responses contain metadata, pagination information, or other data that you don't need for your analysis.

For example, when a request call is used to fetch a list of items, the API will typically return an array of records, along with metadata, in the response. By entering the path to the relevant data, you can configure Nexla to treat each element of the returned array as a record.

Path to Data is essential when API responses have nested structures. Without specifying the correct path, Nexla might not be able to properly parse and organize your data into usable records.

  • To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g., $.data.items[*] to access an array of items within a data object).

    • For responses in XML format, enter the XPath that points to the object/array containing relevant data. XPath uses slash notation (e.g., /response/data/item to access item elements within a data element).

    Path to Data Example:

    For the Gmail List Messages endpoint, the messages array is located at $.messages[*] in the JSON response. For endpoints that return a single message object, the path would be $ to capture the entire response.

Autogenerate Path Suggestions​

Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.

  • To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content & format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.

  • Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

    PathSuggestions.png

Metadata​

If metadata is included in the response but is located outside of the defined path to relevant data, you can configure Nexla to include this data as common metadata in each record. This is useful when you want to preserve important contextual information that applies to all records but isn't part of the main data array.

For example, when a request call is used to fetch a list of items, the API response will typically include an array of records along with metadata such as total count, pagination information, or request timestamps. In this case, if you have specified the path to the relevant data but metadata of interest is located in a different part of the response, you can specify a path to this metadata to include it with each record in the generated Nexset(s).

Metadata paths are particularly useful for preserving API response context like request IDs, timestamps, or summary statistics that apply to all records in the response.

  • To specify the location of metadata that should be included with each record, enter the path to the relevant metadata in the Path to Metadata in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path to the object or array that contains the metadata, and for responses in XML format, enter the XPath.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2). Additional headers are often required for API versioning, content type specifications, or custom authentication requirements.

    You do not need to include any headers already present in the credentials. Common headers like Authorization, Content-Type, and Accept are typically handled automatically by Nexla based on your credential configuration.

Endpoint Testing​

After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Save & Activate the Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Gmail data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.